Life Cycle of the Comma

The Comma (Polygonia c-album) is an attractive member of the Nymphalidae family. It has a rich orange ground colour with dark markings which can be quite variable in their detail and it has strikingly jagged wing edges. The underside is cryptically marked in browns and greys and there is a prominent white 'c' mark on the hind wing that gives this species its name. The sexes are very similar but the female generally has slightly less jagged wings.

 

 It is a double-brooded species and hibernates as an adult butterfly, emerging in early spring to breed. The summer brood, resulting from eggs laid in spring, produces a paler orange butterfly with slightly reduced dark markings. This is form hutchinsoni which accounts for about a third of the summer brood. A second brood is produced in late summer and early autumn which goes into hibernation for the winter.

 

 

Comma (Polygonia c-album) (male)

 

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (female) (form hutchinsoni)

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (male)

 

This specimen has just come out of hibernation and is enjoying some early March sunshine. It is displaying quite pale wing borders. 

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (male) (ab. obscura)

 

In this aberration, the wing borders are blurred and indistinct and the hind wing markings have become fused and blotched.

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (roosting male)

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (ovum on nettle)

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (final instar larva on nettle)

 

The Comma larva is a classic bird-dropping mimic.

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (pupation)

 

The following sequence shows the emergence of a fresh pupa as the larva sheds its final skin.

 

 

Comma (P. c-album) (pupa)

 

After a couple of days, the pupal membrane has fully hardened and has adopted its usual brown colour with reflective mirrors.